The Modern Games
by ragmanthemadman
Summary: What if the Hunger Games were made today, not for tradition, but for entertainment. If your closest family member was drafted to participate how far would you go to make sure he doesn't have to go through these 'death games'. (rated M for violence and language). Note this is not related to the actual Hunger Games book but it is very similar to the Games.
1. The Announcement

**Hello fanfiction. I planned to finish my Alpha and Omega story before I started another one but my mind started to wander one day and I started to come up with another story. This time it's a story about what might happen if the hunger games was made today for entertainment. There is no reference to characters or events from the actual Hunger Games but because the story is very similar to it I had to put it in the Hunger Games category. Anyway enough talk, let's start the story.**

I was breathing heavily as I thought about what I could do. My four squad mates are down and I still have to deal with four enemies. Shit went downhill fast. My squad was assigned to defuse a bomb inside a two story house. We went in to breach the building from the back door, but unfortunately the enemy was waiting for us and we got into a heated firefight. Matt and Chris were hit almost immediately. My best friend Jeff and I were trying to retreat while Alex was trying to give us covering fire. Alex hit one of the opposition but he was also gunned down. Jeff was attempting to run around to the front door when he was shot through an open window, leaving me to fend for myself.

"What can I do?" I whispered to myself. I got an idea but it would only work if no one was upstairs. I tried to recall the ambush. There were two enemies in the kitchen area and two enemies in the living room. The one in the living room was shot so that leaves three still on the first floor. 'Where is the fifth guy?' I wondered to myself, but I had no time to think. There was only a minute left to defuse the bomb or eliminate all the hostiles. I quickly made my way up a ladder on the side of the house and got onto the porch and snuck into the house through the window. Once I was in I tried listen for movement or speech.

"You two keep watching the window, I'll see if he's upstairs." I then heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Oh no I can't let the group get alerted to my position." I whispered to myself. I tried to come up with a way to eliminate the threat without having to fire a shot. "I picked the wrong time to come without a suppressor." I joked to myself. I looked at my watch, just one minute remaining for the mission. The footsteps were gradually getting closer. I decided to hide in the bedroom hoping he wouldn't check his corners. My gamble paid off as he walked right past me and I was able to knife him quickly without him making a sound. "Three to go." I couldn't waste any more time I had to assault the first floor. Before I peeked the stairs I tossed a grenade into the kitchen and waited

*BOOM*

I peeked as soon as it went off and I was two bodies lying in the ground. "One more." I didn't know where he was though so I decided to take a risk. I ran straight to the living room and started to plant the defuser. 'Just a few more seconds and…' suddenly I felt something poke at my back. I dropped the defuser and turned around to see what it was. It was the last enemy and he had a knife to my back. "HIT!" A whistle blew and everyone started to get up. "You son of a bitch. How the hell did you get behind me?" He pointed toward the couch. I noticed it was moved away from the wall slightly. "You sneaky bastard." He chuckled a little and regrouped with his team. I headed out of the building and noticed Jeff was still lying down. "Jeff get up the match is over."

"Oh yeah?" He started to get up.

"Yeah. You didn't hear the whistle?"

"No I can't hear shit with this helmet on. Luckily our coms are still on, I could hear you whisper to yourself the whole time." He stood up and started to take off his black helmet.

"I told you to cut out the ear protection and change it with a vented cover. That way your ears are still protected and you can still hear everyone."

"Yeah, that would've probably helped me hear the guy by the window."

We went back to the team as they got their guns rearmed for the next round.

"They knew exactly where we were going to breach from." Chris said pissed that he didn't even get a chance to return fire.

"Well we weren't exactly subtle with moving into position." I commented.

"We got them next round." Alex said eager to end these guy's winning streak.

"Yeah we will. Time for some payback for shooting me in the head." We all laughed at that remark. The other team members started to head over. Their captain spoke.

"That was a close match but we are still undefeated and you guys just got your first loss."

"Yeah but we'll make sure that you get your first loss as well." Matt commented.

"I have to admit I thought I had you for sure." He said pointing at me. "I figured you would be upstairs but you kept hidden pretty well, and took me down without any trouble."

"Funny how the best player on the team forgets the most basic part of airsoft. Check, your, corners." I snapped back. He chuckled a little.

"Nonetheless that was a great round. We're ready to go when you are." We nodded and they went to the attacker's tent. We were in the middle of a best of three bomb defusal match. The first round went to them, so we have to win this one to force a sudden death. We alternate between attack and defense for the first two rounds. If there is a tie for the last round there is a coin toss with the winner choosing whether they want to attack or defend. The only limitation for equipment is gas blowback guns only.

"Alright where should we place the bomb?" Jeff asked. I had to think about it for a little. I thought about pulling the same stunt the other team pulled by putting the bomb on the first floor giving the enemy team a false impression of a quick bomb defusal, but they might have the perfect strategy to counter it. So I decided to place the bomb elsewhere.

"We'll place the bomb in the second floor master bedroom. With all the rooms on the second floor we could hide until they are vulnerable and then we strike." Everyone appeared to be in agreement but Matt wasn't convinced it was a good plan.

"What if they check each room?"

"Try to get into a prolonged firefight. They are on the time limit, not us. Try and make time their enemy." He nodded in agreement.

"I think I should wait it out downstairs." Jeff said. I got curious.

"Why?"

"If you guys get into a prolonged firefight, they will focus all their attention on you. When they do, I'll come around to flank them." It wasn't a bad idea.

"Alright. Go for it." He nodded and grabbed his gas blowback M4 and his helmet and started to head toward the house. The others have the same gun as Jeff because it was the only gas blowback guns that they had. They each wore navy blue pants and jacket. They each also had a black plate carrier. Everyone except Jeffery wore a black helmet with goggles and a black face mask. Jeffery wears black helmet with a noise cancelling headset, wraparound shades, and a black face mask (They kinda looked like SWAT units). Me? I had a custom made G36 gas blowback with a 3X sight. It was spray painted to a digital urban camouflage to match my uniform. My pants and jacket were also urban camouflaged and I had a helmet that covered my face. It had shaded lens for my eyes and I mounted a camera on it (The character basically looks like a Gensec SWAT unit from payday 2). Lucky for us the other team wore a more military outfit. Green digital camo for their pants, jacket, and plate carrier. They also had tan helmets with protective goggles and a green face mask. In other words, friendly fire isn't an issue.

We set up the 'bomb' in the master bedroom and took our positions. Jeffery went downstairs just as planned. Matt waited in the bathroom, Chris went to the children's bedroom, and Alex and I stayed in the master bedroom as the last line of defense. We heard the ref blow the whistle and we waited for the incoming attack. It didn't matter where you placed the 'bomb' the attacking team will know where it is when they start their attack. How they attack is up to them. I'm anticipating that they will try to split up into two groups. One takes the stairs while the second uses the ladder I used earlier to try and flank us. Boy was I wrong. The entire group went up the stairs. The first rooms they will pass are the kid's bedroom and the bathroom. It looked like they were going to check the rooms. I wanted to give them something else to think about. I poked my head around the corner and fired my gun down the hall. I caught one by surprise and he went down with a loud "HIT" being heard. His team quickly split up and went into the two rooms. I heard short bursts of gunfire and a couple hits. Looking down the hall I saw three enemy team members walking toward me. I inferred that they found Matt and Chris and gunned them down, but not without taking fire first. I fired more rounds down the hall, and they quickly returned fire forcing me into cover. I then saw a Thunder V (Mock Grenade) being thrown into the room. It was too far in the room for me to get hit, but Alex was within range and got hit. They closed on me more and more.

"Jeff come upstairs now!" I tried to whisper but not without a sense of urgency. I fired down the hall some more to try and slow them down but as soon as I peak they shoot at my position and force me into cover again. 'C'mon Jeff' I thought to myself. I saw the shadow of when about to enter the room and finish me.

*POP POP POP*

I heard gunfire and two people yell "HIT" as well as a thud. I took a peak and saw two bodies both were from the enemy team. The third was hiding in the closet in the hallway. I saw my chance and I threw a Thunder V right between the crack in the door.

*BOOM*

I looked and say the door open and when it did the last enemy player was sitting there. The ref blew the whistle signaling that the game was over. We had won.

"Alright!" I heard Alex say as he got up from behind the bed. The rest of the team met up in the bedroom.

"We won!" I heard Matt say with excitement. Our celebration was cut short however as the leader of the enemy team came up to talk to us.

"Well done guys, we've never had such a hard time in a match before. It honestly feels nice to have a challenge, but you know there can only be one winner."

"Oh yeah, and I intend for it to be us." I heard a lot of yups from my teammates telling me that they will back me up.

"Well shall we see who gets home field advantage." He said with a smirk.

"Let's" the ref came and flipped a coin to see which team gets to choose what they want to do. I chose heads and the enemy team chose tails. After a few bounces on the ground the coin lands on heads.

"What do you want to do?" the ref asked the enemy team. The leader grinned and said. 

"Defend." I was afraid of that.

"You have five minutes to get your gear together and come up with a plan." We all nodded and went our separate ways.

"What's the plan?" Jeff asked right off the bat. Everyone was checking their guns and magazines.

"It depends where they place the bomb." As soon as I said that the ref came over and told us what we needed to hear for our plan.

"The bomb is on the first floor in the living room." I got confused, why in the world would the team use the same tactic as before?

"They're trying to bait us into the same battle we had in the first round." Matt inquired.

"So that's their plan." I pondered to myself for a little, trying to think about how to outsmart them. I came up with a risky idea. "OK, here's what we will do." Everyone leaned in close to hear what I had to say. "We will split up into teams. Matt and Chris will be team one and they will breach the front door. Jeff and Alex will be team two and breach the back door."

"What about you?" Jeff asked.

"I'll go solo through the second floor. I'll attack from the top of the stairs." They nodded in agreement. "We will coordinate our breeches and hopefully nothing out of the ordinary will happen. I want to beat these guys without losing a single man OK?" They all agreed. "All right let's do this." With that they got their gear together and got ready for the round to start. The whistle blew and the round began. Team one and two went to the front and back doors while I headed up the ladder to the second floor. They held up at the doors to wait for me to get into position. "Alright guys breach now." With that they popped open the doors and the enemy's found themselves completely surrounded. For the next 20 seconds all I could hear was gunfire. When it was over I looked and saw four enemy players on the ground while my team came inside to secure the first floor.

"I'll go place the defuser." Jeff said.

"All right everyone else cover him. I'll watch up here." Everyone followed Jeff into the living room and I heard the defuser being placed along with a scuffle. I turned to see the last enemy player charging at me with his knife. Instinctively I brought my gun up and shot him in the chest. He dropped to the ground and called his hit. We won the match. The ref blew the whistle to end the match.

"Let's go!" Jeff said with enthusiasm. The team gathered in the living room and the enemy team met us there as well.

"Nice work. You saw through our plan to trick you and countered with a gutsy play, but it worked." We just smiled at him. "Good luck in the rest of your matches. I hope we meet again and next time we do we will win." He smiled and walked off with his team.

After a short celebration we all got our rides home. When I got home my Mom called me to the living room.

"How did you do?" she asked.

"We won, you should've seen it. We made some smart plays." She looked proud for a second and then got a sad look on her face. "What's wrong?" I asked. She didn't answer me. She just turned the TV on and signaled me to watch. The news crew was covering a story about the new 'sport' in our country. Lately America has gotten more and more crime riddled. Murders and thefts were at an all-time high. Of course instead of taking action America blamed it on lack of entertainment for the people. So as a solution a group wanted to make a new 'sport' that would be about survival. The War Trials. Not the best name but it's supposed to have a lot of realistic warfare without the risk of actually dying. It says they came up with suits that simulate pain to your body when you're shot with a simubullet. A bullet that is shaped like a real bullet and behaves like a real bullet but it explodes with a paint mark left behind. The suit simulates the pain that would be caused if it were a real bullet to the point of simulating death. It wasn't foolproof though. They won't allow grenades but they will allow certain explosives to be used that can still kill you, not to mention the vehicles and natural causes that can also kill you. I know what you're thinking, 'they can't start a sport like that without some special permission.' And you would be right, which is why the government just gave their approval for it.

"They will be taking kids 13-18 to participate."

"And you're scared that I will be picked to participate." She nodded. I understand it. Who would want their kid to be forced into a battle for the entertainment of others?

"They will take a boy and a girl from each state to participate. The drawing starts in two days." Today is Saturday so they are probably going to wait until all the kids are in school to do the drawing.

"The odds of me getting picked for this are extremely slim. Don't worry I can almost guarantee that I won't be picked." She seemed to be satisfied with what I said, and gave me a kiss before she went to her room to turn in for the night. I went to take a quick shower and go to bed. I couldn't sleep, I wasn't scared so much for me getting picked, but what if one of my cousins are picked. I don't want them to go through this. If they died I wouldn't be able to bear it. I sat on that thought for a while and found myself drifting off to sleep.

 **Wow that was longer than I intended it to be but anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you did please review it so I can improve on what I started. Until next time this is ragmanthemadmansigning off.**


	2. Volunteering

**New Chapter! Hope you enjoy it.**

I arrived at school on Monday with a feeling of nervousness. Not so much for me, but for anyone in my family getting chosen for these "games". I don't think I can handle it if someone in my family gets put in them. It's not that I don't think they can take care of themselves, but I fear for the worst that can happen to them. The country is not taking this lightly either. They don't want anyone to try and avoid the drawings. Our school had guys in National Guard uniforms patrolling. They didn't have much for firepower but I'm not going to test my luck with these guys, and I don't think the others from school will either. I took a seat in the auditorium to get ready for the Connecticut drawing. If I remember correctly, each state sends a male and a female who are between the ages of 14 and 18 to an arena to "fight" hopefully without death. I doubt anyone from my school could survive; most of them are extremely cocky and would most likely get shot as soon as they hit the arena floor. No one really knows the rules of the games yet, they're waiting for the "main event" to announce them. Each tribute card had a name and the school they're from, so the guards can be on high alert if someone is called from that school. I sat in the back, alone like I enjoy being. I do have a few friends but I don't feel like messing around with them right now. I've got to listen for a few names that I don't want to hear called. Two of those names go to this school and the third is at another school. I can't do anything about two of them though, because unfortunately you can't be a male volunteering for a female.

I looked to the front of the auditorium to see my cousins talking to their friends; smiling, laughing, acting like this is just another excuse to get out of class. I know how dangerous this can be though. I don't want them to be a part of it. In fact, I hope that they don't even notice the games. We could all do without them if you ask me. The principal started to come up to the stage and we all started to settle down and take our seats.

"Good afternoon students."

"Good afternoon Mr. Molletti."

"I'm sure some of you are wondering why the school has the National Guard here and why you all were called to the auditorium." I'm sure that some people know by now. It was all over the news this weekend. Even kid's channels had ads for these stupid games. "All of you are possible tributes for _The War Trials_. Anyone here can be chosen to represent Connecticut in this new sport. It is a huge honor and privilege to go so cross your fingers and hope you are chosen." Everyone went silent. No one was going to want to participate in this new 'game' that they have. We have people that talk like they can fire a gun and defend themselves. That may help but these games are more about survival than anything else. Starvation, infection, and not to mention any natural cause of death is a permanent one that not even the special suit they designed can bring you back from. No one in their right mind would volunteer, unless, it was to protect someone. The TV monitor lit up and the creator of the games was speaking.

"Good morning everyone and welcome to the Connecticut drawing for the first ever _War Trials_." There was an applause coming from the TV screen, I'm really hoping it's fake. No one should get excited about this. "Let's grab our first tribute, boys first." He reached around a bowl that had to be filled with a good 10,000 names and grabbed one. The cards have our name, age, and school we attend so the guards here can be on the lookout for the first tribute. He started to open the card. "Our first tribute for Connecticut, from Bloomfield High School…"

"Oh shit." I said as I listened intently for the name I was about to hear. Bloomfield high school is where I go to.

"… Is Darrell Womack." My heart dropped.

"No way" I whispered to myself. Darrell was my cousin and he was 14. There was no way that I was going to let him participate in this. The guards started to sweep for my cousin who stood up very slowly. I didn't think I got up and started to walk to my cousin's side. The guards were starting to force him to the stage but he was refusing. I grabbed the guards' arm which was a big mistake because his buddy came up behind me and grabbed me.

"Help me cuz!" Darrell screamed in agony. I couldn't bear to watch anymore I just blurted out the first thing that came to my mind.

"I volunteer!" The chaos stopped for a bit and I released myself from the guard's grip. "I volunteer as Connecticut's male tribute" The crowd started to whisper amongst themselves and one of the guards said something in his headset. While he was talking the host on TV had his finger to his ear, like there was an earpiece we couldn't see inside of it. While they were busy I ran to my cousin and hugged him. He was shaking and had tears in his eyes.

"You didn't have to do that." He said.

"Yes I did. There was no way I was going to let you participate in those games." My other cousin, Kenya, came over to comfort her brother. After she calmed him down she punched my shoulder.

"Your better come back alive, you understand?" she said to me.

"I do cousin. I'll make sure I'm back in one piece." Everyone in the auditorium was staring at us some with a look of worry, others with sadness and others with looks of utter shock. The host spoke again.

"It appears we have a volunteer in Bloomfield High School for the males. Why don't you go up to the stage and show us all who you are." Reluctantly I followed the guards to the stage and had a camera pointed dead in my face. I refused to look into it. "What's your name kid?" The host asked. The boom mic lowered closer to me.

"My name is Jerome Betsey Jr."

[Unknown POV]

"What the fuck is wrong with him. He had to volunteer to save his cousin didn't he." I sighed and just accepted it. "Typical JJ. Always wanting to protect everyone in his family. Caring more about them than his own self." I stood up tall and when I felt everyone had their eyes on me I spoke. "I volunteer as the female tribute for Connecticut!"

 **Woah! Where did she come from? Is she friend or foe? You'll just have to read the next chapter. Until next time this is ragmanthemadman signing off.**


	3. Explanations

[Jerome's POV]

I stood on the stage still refusing to look at the camera. No one needed to see my face, but the cameraman kept adjusting his camera to try and get a good look at me whenever I looked away. Eventually I gave up and let him look at me.

"Don't be shy kid; soon the whole country will know who you are." The creator on TV said. I wanted to punch him in the face. There was no need for the public exposure I was getting. It's not like I'm a hero or anything. I'm just going to be in a game, a pretty dangerous game at that. "Now let's select the female that will participate with him." I forgot to mention that you're supposed to work with your partner from your state as a team. I hoped I wouldn't get a girl that would slow me down, but that was a long shot. He started shifting through a bowl filled with names for females and he pulled one out. "The female tribute for Connecticut will be…" He paused and put his finger to his ear, the same way he did when I volunteered. "It appears we have another volunteer, this time from UConn." My eyes grew wide with fear.

"I know she didn't" I whispered to myself hoping that what I was thinking happened didn't

"Please come onstage and tell us your name." I didn't look at the TV although I knew she was there I just listened and hoped it's not who I think it is.

"My name is Octavia Hall." Tears started to form in my eyes.

"No." I whispered to myself. My fears were true. My girlfriend, Octavia Hall, volunteered to be in the games. I looked at the TV screen and saw her. She was a tall, thin girl with long, black hair, and dark brown skin with no blemishes. I didn't know if she could se me but if she could she would see me fighting tears.

"Those are our tributes for Connecticut. I wish them good luck in the Trials." With that the TV cut off and I was left standing on stage in front of my entire school. As I looked in the crowd I saw many people who had a look of respect for what I did. I saw my friends show the same respect, as well as my cousins. The principal grabbed his microphone and addressed the crowd.

"Wasn't that exciting?" he said a bit too enthusiastically in my opinion. He got a silent response from the crowd. "We have today and tomorrow to say our goodbyes but for now we celebrate." He got scattered applause but not too enthusiastic.

For the rest of the day I hung out with my classmates. Most of them just gave me a quick 'bro hug' and some gave me a good luck. Others just gave me a nod as I walked by giving me a silent good luck. My friends were another story. My guy friends just tried to make me smile throughout the day, to no avail however as I was still down for the day because of what I got myself, and possibly Octavia, into. The female friends I have gave me a more formal hug. Some even cried on my shoulder a bit, although I knew them from when we were still in preschool. Overall the day was shit and I knew I was going to get it from my parents when I got home.

As soon as I walk in the front door I see my mom standing there with her arms folded. Then without warning she gave me a good smack on the cheek. I was shocked. She never hit me like that before. Right after she did that though she pulled me into a hug.

"You promised me you wouldn't be picked. Now you go and volunteer. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" she said while crying on my shoulder. I hugged her back.

"I never promised anything I just said that I most likely won't be picked. And you probably saw the whole thing right?" she nodded. "It was either me or DJ (Darrell Womack) and there was no way I was letting DJ do this." She backed off of me and wiped her tears.

"Promise me that you come back alive."

"I'll try." She wasn't completely satisfied with my answer but she accepted it nonetheless. My phone started to vibrate after our conversation. It was a message from Octavia.

(O=Octavia, J=Jerome)

O: I know you saw.

J: I did, and we need to talk.

O: Where?

J: The town park. 10 minutes

O: K, on my way.

My mom mouthed who is it to me and I mouthed back Octavia. She nodded and I started to leave the house.

"I'll be back in a half hour." She nodded and went to the living room. I closed the door behind me and started walking to the park. On the way there I saw kids on their bikes and their parents watching them. When I walked by them though they stopped what they were doing and looked at me with the same look of respect that my classmates gave me. I avoided eye contact and kept walking to the park.

When I arrived at the park there were a few families playing near the playground. I grabbed a seat on a bench overlooking the playground and I waited for Octavia to show up. A minute later she showed up and sat down next to me.

"Do you want to explain?" I asked

"What?"

"You know what. Why did you decide to volunteer for _the War Trials_." I said in an angry tone. This caused her eyes to start watering.

"Because you volunteered Jeromy (That's her nickname for me) I wanted to help you survive these games." she wiped her eyes afterwards. I felt bad for yelling at her.

"Now who's going to help you survive?"

"I thought you would."

"And what if I die? Huh? What would you do then?"

"You forget that I can fight." She takes Tae Kwon Do classes.

"This isn't a Tae Kwon Do tournament Avi (My nickname for her) this is supposed to simulate military warfare. Plus, you have to find food to eat, and water to drink." She started to break down crying and I instinctively hugged her. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just that I wanted to keep DJ out of this for this exact reason, and now you're in it and I have to try and make sure you're safe throughout the game." She started to calm down and started to pull away from my embrace. "Point is, I don't think I could look after myself and you at the same time." She wiped her eyes and gave me a look of determination.

"You won't be alone Jeromy. I'll stay by your side the entire time." She gave me a peck on the cheek and got up. She started to walk away.

"Wait." I said she stopped in her tracks and turned to look at me. "Would you like to sleep over my house tonight?" I cringed after I said that. I didn't want her to get the wrong impression but I just don't think I could get a good night's sleep if I was alone. I don't think she got the wrong impression though because she smiled wide and said.

"I would love to." With that we headed to my house.

When we arrived at my house I saw a few extra cars in the driveway. I recognized a couple of them.

"Oh boy." I said.

"What's wrong?" Octavia asked me with concern.

"The family is here." I pointed at the extra cars in the driveway and she nodded. I walked to the door of the house, which was unlocked, and I opened it. Inside the house was my mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and my grandma. I stared at them for a bit until my aunt came up to hug me.

"Thank you so much for getting DJ out of that 'game'."

"No problem auntie." I said while gasping for breath from her squeezing me so hard. Octavia starting to walk in the door as well and everyone's attention went to her.

"Hi everyone." She said nervously. Instead of saying hi back my mom smiled and said.

"Thank you for being with my son in these hard times."

"It's no issue at all. I'm happy to do it." The family gave me some cake which had my favorite ACW-R gun on it along with the words 'good luck'. How they found a cake like that fast is beyond me but we still enjoyed it nonetheless.

When the cake was finished everyone started to leave and my mom asked if Octavia needed a ride home.

"Actually I was hoping to spend the night with Jeromy if that's ok." My mom had a suspicious look.

"Nothing will happen. We just want to have a peaceful night's sleep before the game starts tomorrow." That seemed to reassure her.

"Ok. You can spend the night here." She said with a smile.

"Thank you." Octavia and I said at the same time. Mom giggled a little at that and started to head for bed. Octavia and I went to my room where I was about to change but realized that she was in the room with me.

"I can change in the bathroom if you want some privacy." She shook her head.

"No I'm fine; I just don't wear pajamas when I sleep." She said blushing and avoiding eye contact.

"If it reassures you I normally just sleep in sweatpants without a shirt." That seemed to reassure her a little bit because she started to strip down to her underwear right in front of me. I couldn't help but star at her flawless brown skin, and sexy figure. Her breast weren't the biggest but they were certainly developed. I don't know how to tell sizes so I can't give and accurate size. I was snapped back to reality though when she spoke.

"Don't just stare. You get undressed too. It's embarrassing being the only one." I got the message and stripped into my underwear and put on my sweatpants. I wasn't the most developed guy in terms of muscle size, but I did have a six pack and had some muscle in my arms, my chest stuck out a little as well.

"Better?" I asked. She nodded and hopped in the bed. I lied down next to her and put my arms around her. I gave her a kiss on her cheek. "I love you Avi."

"I love you too Jeromy."


	4. Draft day

**New chapter is finally here. I'll be honest though, it's becoming a lot harder to find the motivation to keep writing this story. I know where I want it to go, and I have a general idea of the plot I want, but putting time in to type it is starting to become more difficult to do. I know that there are some people out there that is interested in this story and want it to continue, and I plan on trying to finish it as long as I have some support (just one person is enough actually), however, if the updates become less frequent it's because I can't find the motivation to type it. Anyway that's the story, I've kept you long enough. Enjoy.**

[Jerome's POV]

I was on the roof of a building taking heavy fire from other players. I was getting pushed back to the edge of the roof. Avi was getting scared and was starting to panic a bit.

"Make it stop!" she screamed over the loud gunfire. I peak my head around the corner to see if someone is in sight but as soon as I do a bullet pings the vent I'm hiding behind. I immediately got back into cover knowing that they had an angle on me. Avi, however tried to run to the other side of the roof while under heavy fire.

"Avi stop!" I yelled, but it was too late. I saw her body flinching to being hit by the bullets. She started to stumble backwards to the point where she was at the edge of the roof. "AVI!" I yelled to try and snap her out of it but she kept stumbling backwards until she tripped over the edge of the roof and started plummeting to the ground. I looked in horror as her body made contact with the ground. Then, I just lost it. I got out of cover and rushed the players shooting at me. There was a good 4 of them so I knew I wasn't getting out alive. All I wanted to do was take some down with me. Boy was I stupid. As soon as I left cover I felt the bullets strike my body. I tried to keep going but my body got weaker with each bullet impact. My body couldn't handle it anymore and I kneeled to the ground. The bullets stopped coming and one player came over to me and put his sidearm to my forehead.

"Nothing personal." He says before his hand started to squeeze the trigger.

"No." I said as I jumped upright on my bed. "That was not my best dream." I looked to my left and saw Avi still asleep next to me. I looked at the clock and it was 7:00 AM. I was contemplating going back to sleep but I kept hearing banging on the door. Thinking that no one else would get it I got up and walked out of my room to get the door. When I opened it I saw a National Guard member standing in front of me. "Can I help you?"

"Yes you can. I'm here to pick up you and Octavia Hall to take you to the training facility." I raised an eyebrow.

"Training Facility?"

"It's where you and Octavia will train prior to the games starting."

"How long will we be there?"

"Five days."

"Anything we need to bring."

"Nope just put on some athletic clothes and come outside when you're ready." With that he walked away and I shut the door. I jumped after turning around and seeing my dad in front of me.

"Morning dad."

"Morning son. I guess that you didn't want to tell your father anything about this." I looked away feeling a little bad that I kept this from him.

"Sorry dad. You were at work and you never answer the phone when you're there." He opened his mouth wanting to say something but he couldn't.

"Good point." My dad got me into airsoft in the first place. After he saw that I played a lot of First Person Shooters he took me to an airsoft arena and let me try it out. I was instantly hooked and I play airsoft more that I play Video Games. "So are you about to go?"

"Yes I am. Sorry for the short goodbye." He walked over to me and gave me a hug.

"Don't be sorry son. You have to promise me that you will come back alive. Even if you die in terms of the competition I want you to come back here alive and well." I gave him a nod.

"You got it dad." He broke the hug and started to walk to his bedroom and I went to mine to wake up Avi and to try and get dressed. When I walked in I saw Avi sitting up looking directly at me.

"Morning Jeromy."

"Morning Avi. How long have you been up?"

"I woke up after you got out of bed. We gotta go soon huh?"

"Yeah we do. I guess training starts now." She got up out of bed and she went to get her clothes.

"Luckily I had my athletic clothes on when we went to talk." She started getting dressed and I found some black basketball shorts with a t-shirt that has a Yankees logo on it. After getting dressed we went to say our goodbyes to my parents. Mom was still asleep and dad was watching sports.

"You're leaving now?" dad asked.

"Yeah we are." He nudged my mom awake so that she could say goodbye.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"We're going to a training facility for five days before the game starts." She nodded and got up to hug me.

"Come home alive, OK?"

"I will mom." She broke the hug and kissed my cheek. She then turned to Octavia and hugged her.

"Make sure he doesn't do anything crazy." I rolled my eyes and Octavia giggled.

"I keep an eye on him." They pulled away from the hug and my dad just gave us nod of approval.

"Good luck." He said. We nodded and went outside to meet the Guard who would take us there. He was driving a white school van which was an odd choice for the guard.

"Ready?" he asked. I then had a realization.

"Avi don't you want to say goodbye to your mom?" she shook her head.

"She's on a business trip. I already told her what was happening before I went to talk to you." I nodded and turned my attention to the Guard.

"We're ready." With that said he opened the car door for us to get in and went to the driver's seat. Once we got in and shut the door we were on our way to the training facility.

"They told me to give you a rundown on what to expect when you get to the facility." Thinking that the ride would take a while, Octavia got comfortable and leaned her body against mine. "On the first day, which is today, you will do a lot of physical training to get ready for the arena. On the second day you will learn survival skills on how to find food and also some first aid. You will also get a rundown on how the games will work on that day. On the third day you will get some gun training. This will show which types of guns you are proficient in as well as what guns you will take with you to the arena. Keep in mind that the ones we provide are basic at most and the more powerful ones are hidden in the arena. On the fourth, and last, day of training you will get some freestyle training. A judge from the Gamemasters will come by to see you in action and will give you a score based on how well you do in an obstacle course." I assumed that this will be used for people to place bets on who might win these games, which I found repulsive. "After that you get to rest until the fifth day, where you will be taken to the arena for the games. Any questions?" There really wasn't much to ask about. He gave us a good rundown on what would happen.

"No sir." I said. I looked toward Octavia to see if she had anything to ask. She just shook her head and tried to get some rest.

"It'll take 45 minutes to get to the facility so you can take a nap if you want. I'll wake you guys up when we arrive." I didn't respond I just leaned against the window, which let Octavia get more room, and tried to get some shuteye. Although, it was difficult considering that the car was jerking a bit after every turn and bump we hit, and my head was constantly hitting the window. I readjusted my position to the headrest where I found it more comfortable. I still couldn't get much shuteye though, which kinda sucks considering I didn't have the best night's sleep. I guess a lot of time went by while I was trying to get comfortable though because I felt the car start to slow down and park. I opened my eyes to see that we were in a decommissioned base. It wasn't very big but it had the essentials for training. I know that sometimes the swat teams practice here; I've even played some airsoft in this area.

"We're here." The guard said. I looked to my side to see Octavia fast sleep. It felt wrong to try and wake her up but I knew that we had work to do. I nudged her a little.

"Avi. Wake up, we're here." She started to stir awake and started to yawn. After she finished she opened her eyes and looked around.

"Where are we?"

"We're in one of the decommissioned bases that's now used as a training facility." She nodded and took in the sights. She looked a little amazed but I sensed that she was shaking a little. "You ok?" She nodded her head yes, albeit rather slowly, which hinted to me that she really wasn't OK. We hopped out the car and proceeded to follow the Guard member to the barracks. I was expecting a room with nothing but a bed, a closet, and maybe a bathroom. But what I got was much more. When we stepped in the barracks I saw a decorative lobby with a few people roaming around, most looked like they just maintained the place. One of the workers walked up to us and gave Octavia and me a room key.

"If you guys would follow me I'll take you to your room." The worker led the way followed by me, Octavia, and the guard in that order. We went up some stairs until we got to the top floor where we got to a door locked with a keycard. The worker swiped hers and proceeded to walk in. the room we had was amazing. A dining room table in the middle of the room as well as a living room with an angled couch and a huge 70 inch TV with a few gaming consoles connected to it. We had two bedrooms and two bathrooms, the bedrooms had a king sized bed with a bedding that seems like it came from a resort hotel. The bathrooms had a standard toilet with a sink and a shower, but it also had a power bath, probably to relax after training.

"Wow" Octavia and I said simultaneously.

"Glad you like it." The worker said with a smile. She then proceeded to give us our room keys and walked out. The guard told us what to do next.

"Relax here for about an hour. I'll come get you ad take you to training when I get the OK." Octavia and I nodded at the guard and he proceeded to leave the room. I decided to look inside the bedroom closets to see if we had clothes to change into and sure enough, there was a whole wardrobe inside there. There was tuxedos, casual wear, nightwear, and athletic wear, pretty much everything we would need while we are here. I walked over to the living room to find Octavia asleep on the couch. I smiled and walked next to her and laid down on the opposite side with my head next to hers.

'She's so beautiful' I thought to myself as I felt my eyes become heavy and I drifted off to sleep.

 **That's the end of this chapter. And like I said I will try to find the motivation to finish this story, but no promises of frequent updates. Until next time this is ragmanthemadman signing off.**


	5. Conditioning

I awoke to the sound of someone slamming the door. It was loud enough for me to hear but Octavia was still sound asleep. When I looked toward the door I saw the Guard that brought us here earlier standing there.

"Your hour is up, time to go train." Figures that we can't stay in this room for the whole time we were here. Why do people always give others special treatment before they do something strenuous?

"Ok we'll be up."

"I'll be waiting outside your room." He walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. I looked at Octavia who was still sound asleep and went over to her side of the couch to wake her up.

"Avi, wake up. Time to go." I shook her a bit while speaking in her ear which made her groan a bit and her eyes flutter.

"What's up Jeromy?"

"We have to go train now." She grunted and sat up while stretching her back and arms. She then stood up next to me.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" She started to walk toward the door and I couldn't help but chuckle a bit as she did. She was always one to have a lot of energy when she wakes up. I followed her out of the room and saw the guard standing there waiting for us.

"Follow me." He said as he turned to walk to the elevator. We followed him out of the building towards the training facility that was right next door. When we walked in there was a lot of things to do. There was a weight room, a shooting range, and a classroom that were set up in a spokes fashion from the front door. The weight room was to our right, the shooting range was in front, and the classroom was to our left. There was also a track outside of the weight room. The room we had to go to though was the classroom. As we walked in there was a guard sitting in the front of the classroom, a female guard I should add. The other guard that escorted us stood outside the door.

"Please sit, we have some things to go over before your training begins." Me and Octavia sat in the front of the room. The class felt empty since there were about 40 seats yet there was only three people in the rooms. "First off I have to tell you how the games will take place and I will only say this once so pay attention."

"Yes Ma'am." Octavia said trying to show some respect but I think she goes overboard with it sometimes.

"Just call me Sargent Roman. Since this is the first annual War Trials, I assume that you don't know how it will work." We both shook our heads.

"All we know so far is that we train for five days here." I said.

"Right, after that, you will choice your weapons to bring into the arena."

"We don't have to get any in the arena?" I asked.

"No you don't, however, the weapons you bring with you are low grade and not very efficient. They also come stock with no attachments. In the arena, there will not only be better weapons but there will also be attachments. You get a choice of an assault rifle, sniper rifle, or a shotgun, as well as a FN57 sidearm." Basically a primary weapon for close, medium, or long range with a mediocre sidearm. "You will go in with two mags for each gun plus a choice of a flashbang or smoke grenade. You will also get three MRE's each, a bottle of water, and repelling equipment." Not going to lie, I got a bit excited when she said that we get repelling equipment. "After you get your equipment, a helicopter will take you to the arena where you will parachute in." I looked at Octavia, who was visibly shaking. I don't mind skydiving into the arena because I've done it before, but Octavia was never one for doing daredevil stunts like that. "The rest is to survive against your opponents. How to survive, is what I will be training you to do over the next five days." We both nodded at her. "First we're going to do is some conditioning. Head over to the track and run a couple miles." We're both pretty athletic so running a couple miles is pretty simple for us. My guess is she's trying to see how athletic we are. We got up from our seats and headed to the track. On the way there we had a quick chat.

"You ok?" I asked Octavia.

"Not really. I didn't think that I would have to face my fears from the very beginning." This troubled me.

"If you can't handle something like jumping out of a helicopter then you can't survive these games." She looked down at the ground while still walking.

"I know; the games will test me to my core but I need to get over my basic fears first before I get into the arena and face fears I didn't even know I had." You might think that I have no fears but in truth, I am afraid. I just try not to show it. You might think I'm a hypocrite now that I said that and you might be right, but, if we are to survive the War Trials then we both need to ignore our fears.

"You don't have to overcome your fears, but at least try to not show it. If we are to survive then we need to be as calm and clear minded as possible." She lifted her head and nodded.

"You're right, I'll do my best to not let it get the best of me." I was happy with her answer and we arrived at the track with Sergeant Roman not far behind us.

"This isn't a normal outdoor track, it's a special half mile track. So two miles here is four laps. Better get running." Didn't take long for us to get running either. We both have a lot of stamina so running two miles is a piece of cake for the both of us. I ran a bit faster though and finished 15 seconds faster than she did. It was tiring though, and our day was just beginning. "Good work you two, now you are going to do free weights for an hour. After that, we will get into real training." Lifting weights is something we're both used to. We both decided to work out on muscle endurance. We lift weights that are pretty light but we do a lot of reps to improve our muscular stamina. We lift for an hour until Sargent Roman comes in to check on us. "Hope you're not too tired because we have one last thing to train on for today." I hoped it was something that was easy but unfortunately it wasn't. "We're going to train on hand-to-hand combat. I want you two to spar against each other to show me what you got." We looked at each other.

"You want us two to spar against each other?" I said while pointing my finger at the both of us.

"That's right, go to the mat and begin when you're ready." It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that I don't practice hand-to-hand combat. I have no idea what to do in that situation. Me and Octavia took a spot on the mat.

"Could you count us off?" I asked Sargent Roman

"No problem. Three… two… one… begin!" Oh yeah, remember when I told you that Octavia was a black belt in Tae Kwon Do? Well, she is, and I definitely could not fight against it. As soon as Sargent Roman said go, I lunged at Octavia who effortlessly countered by grabbing my arm and sweeping me leg, causing me to fall on the mat.

"Sorry Jeromy." She gave me her hand to pull me up.

"Nice work Octavia. Jerome, you need some work on this." I gave her a 'no shit' look. "Have you trained in hand-to-hand combat before Octavia?"

"Yeah I have. I'm a black belt in Tae Kwon Do." Sargent Roman gave an affirming nod to what she said. "Have you ever taught other people before?"

"A little bit yes."

"Then I want you to train Jerome until he is able to be adept in hand-to-hand combat." I don't mind being trained by my girlfriend, but I just hope that I can learn quickly.

"Understood Sargent." Sargent Roman walks out of the weight room, leaving me and Octavia alone.

"Take it easy on me, ok?" She gave me a devious smile.

"No promises." I figured as much. She's not one to sugar coat things. She showed me basic moves for counters. She also showed me some ways to disarm people. Which will be useful if I need to take out a target and don't have a gun to do so. We went about training for a good two hours before we were satisfied with my skill. As luck would have it, Sargent Roman showed up when we were done.

"I'll assume that you have trained well enough to handle yourself. I know this might not seem like the most important thing to train on and it really isn't to be honest which is why it only lasts a day, but, it is important to know nonetheless. You never know how an encounter will play out. It could be as quick as a bullet to the head, or as long as shooting until both sides run out of bullets to shoot, and hand-to-hand combat is the only way to eliminate the threat." I didn't like the way she said eliminate and neither did Octavia.

"I thought that there were supposed to be no deaths with the games." Octavia asked.

"We took steps to prevent deaths, but because this is the first game, we expect a few to happen." I figured that a few deaths would occur, but when she said that the gamemakers were expecting it, that made me feel more uneasy about the games. The games have government support which is why it is being worked with the National Guard to have it run as smooth as possible with no deaths, or so they say. "You did well today. Get some rest, tomorrow we will work with weapons." Something that I'm good at and that I will probably teaching Octavia more on what to do.

We left the training facility and went to our rooms. It was about 3:00 pm when we left so we were going to chill in our room and have dinner until we go to bed. The room does have a game console with a huge library, so I played some Rainbow Six Siege while Octavia watched, although she dozed off from time to time. I lost track of time while I was playing and before I knew it, people came up to our room with food. They gave us a lot of food; it was buffet style almost. Both of us ate to our hearts content, which wasn't hard considering we didn't eat all day. After eating, we both went to our rooms and showered after a hard day's work and we went to bed. The first day was done and four more were to come until the games begin.


	6. GUNS!

**Hey guys. I started to play a spring sport for my school. Unfortunately, that means that updates will be even more infrequent than they are now. I apologize for this but it's only for a few months. Hopefully I can continue to work hard with this before that time. Anyways, enjoy.**

Today started out like any other normal day would. I woke up to around 7:00, a time that my brain is hardwired to wake up at. Then I took a shower, ate breakfast, and brushed my teeth. Yesterday we went over how to find food and how to survive on our own. Basically, food can be found all over the arena in the form of MREs. If we need to find food in the wild we were taught what is good and what isn't. we also learned some first aid just in case something happened to one of us. Overall, not a day to write home about. I was told today was more of a gun training day, so I just put on a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't until 1:00 so I got up early for nothing. Octavia's room door was closed, so I assumed she was still asleep. It was 8:30 when I was done with my morning routine. I decided to pass the time by playing some rainbow six siege. Might as well get some tactical shooting experience for the War Trials. The game has gotten pretty far from when it first came out but I still rage because of those headshot instant kills. I accidentally raged too loudly because Octavia came out of her room rubbing her eyes.

"Morning Jeromy." She said sleepily. I thought it was cute.

"Good morning. I didn't wake you did I?"

"Yeah you kinda did." She said while getting comfortable next to me. She rested her head on my shoulder and yawned.

"Sorry about that. This game pisses me off at times."

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for training instead of playing video games?"

"I already washed up and ate, and we don't go down until 1." I looked at the clock. "It's 10:00 now."

"You did your morning routine already?" I nodded. "When did you get up?"

"Around 7." She stroked my back which meant that she was getting into a sensitive subject.

"You still have trouble sleeping past seven." I nodded. I put the controller down. Now wasn't the time to be playing.

"Yeah. It's hard to forget about it. It's still fresh in my mind." When I was 11, my house caught fire early in the morning. 7:00 to be exact. It started in my room too of all places. I wasn't hurt too bad but that was an event that to this day I can't get over. I was pretty much trapped inside a room surrounded by flames, waiting for someone to come save me. It was pretty traumatizing.

"Sorry you had to go through that."

"Don't be sorry. Like I told you the first time you found out it wasn't your fault and there was nothing you could've done to help out. I appreciate you caring for me but sometimes you reach out too far. Control only what you can control, and if it's out of your reach, don't stress about it." I could feel her head moving up and down in a nodding motion. Then I heard a few thuds coming from the TV. When I looked up I saw my character die as he was getting gunned down by multiple players. That's what I get for being idle.

"I think you died." She said sarcastically.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" she gave me a playful punch on my shoulder, got up from the couch and went to the bathroom. "I love her." I said to myself as I continued to play my game.

* * *

It didn't take long for Octavia to shower and get dressed. We both were playing some Rocket League to have some fun together. Nothing to exciting really happened until 1:00 when we had to go down to the shooting range for training. When we arrived, Sargent Roman greeted us.

"Good afternoon you two. I trust you had a good night's sleep?" Octavia and I nodded. "Good, because today is going to be more of a mental day. We will still shoot guns to test your accuracy with them and to find tune some fundamentals, but, the main focus of today is knowing about guns like the back of your hand."

"Why is knowing the guns your using so important?" Octavia asked. Instead of answering her immediately, she looked at me.

"Do you know why you should know your guns before you get in the arena Jerome?" I thought about it a bit before I answered.

"Our weapons are our only means of defense in the arena. If we had a gun malfunction mid-firefight, then we need to know how to fix it quickly or we might not make it out alive." She nodded.

"That's right Jerome, and on top of that you should do maintenance on your weapon so that it shouldn't malfunction in the first place. After today, you may not know how every gun operates exactly, but, you should quickly be able to figure out the most important parts of the gun and how to maintain it." I got a grasp of what she was saying fairly easily. I'm a huge gun enthusiast which is why I play a lot of airsoft. Even if it's not real, I still enjoy it. Octavia on the other hand, might not grasp the concept too well. "Let's get started."

* * *

For the next couple hours, we went over a lot about guns. We went over a lot about weapon parts and how they work for guns. She drilled it into us that the only thing different about guns is the type of parts they have in them and how they are arranged. Most guns have the same essentials needed to work properly. It took some time for Octavia to get it but she eventually did. Once you know the different parts of a gun and how they operate it's not that hard to figure out how different guns are put together. After that class about guns, we were tested on something that is equally as important as knowledge, skill.

"Now that you know how guns work, you need to use them in action. We'll start out small with handguns, and work our way up to more powerful and skillful guns." We set up in the shooting range with a FN57 pistol. All we did was practice managing gun recoil, reloading, and target acquisition. It wasn't hard for me to do those things because of my experience with airsoft, and Octavia got the hang of it pretty quick. When we moved on to bigger, more powerful weapons, it got harder for Octavia to be accurate with the guns. The bigger the weapon, the further the range our targets were for us to hit and that didn't go too well with Octavia. It was especially prevalent when we were practicing with sniper rifles. Our targets were 200 meters away, at that range we need to compensate for some variables, the biggest one being bullet drop. It's something that took some explaining to help her learn how ballistics work. She was kneeling in front of a table with a scout elite on top of the table with a bipod.

"Do you see little dots in the reticle?" She nodded. "Those are called mil dots. They are used to judge bullet drop. The reticle is zeroed to 100 meters. Each mil dot corresponds to about 200 meters each. How high up should you aim?"

"Half a mil?"

"Exactly." She adjusted her rifle and took the shot. She still missed but I know why. "Your rushing a bit and your gun is still moving a bit. That might not be a big deal with assault rifles in CQB, but it is the difference between hitting and missing for snipers. Take time to steady yourself before you shoot."

"How would I do that?"

"It's called sniper breathing. Breath in and out in four second increments. Breath in for four seconds, hold it in for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, hold it for four seconds. If possible, try to fire when your holding your breath in." She nodded and repositioned herself to fire. I could hear her breathing slowly. Her body was more relaxed than last time. While holding her breath in she pulled the trigger and hit the target dead on. "Just like that." I said while flashing her a smile. She smiled back, proud of herself for hitting that target.

"I have to admit I'm impressed with how much you know Jerome. I could've just left you two here to practice on your own." Sargent Roman said to me.

"Thanks for the compliment Sargent Roman, but it's just a few things I picked up from playing airsoft. I didn't know if it would translate well to real guns or not."

"In this case it does, and since you play airsoft you know there is a lot more to compensate for than just distance." I nodded. "That will help you when it comes to using a sniper rifle. I recommend that you bring one into the arena. Even though it's not the best I'm sure you can do some serious damage with it."

"Thank you Sargent Roman."

"As for Octavia, I would recommend an assault rifle for you. It's a good balance for you and with some more practice you will be an expert with them."

"Thank you Sargent Roman." Octavia responded.

"What you bring to the arena however is up to you. I'm only giving my opinion." She looked at the clock in the range. "That's about it for today. Head back to your rooms and turn in for the night. Tomorrow we will have a representative for the games come by to evaluate you on what you have trained on so far. I suggest getting a good night's sleep." Easy for her to say.

* * *

Octavia and I went back to our rooms to have dinner. Again, they spared no expense with the buffet style setup. We had our dinner and I decided to turn in early in order to get a sufficient amount of sleep. I said goodnight to Octavia and went into my room to get some sleep. Only one day left before the games begin, and it's a day I am not looking forward to.


End file.
